Good News Reflection FOR NEXT SUNDAY: January 17, 2010 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Good News Reflection
FOR NEXT SUNDAY: January 17, 2010
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Parish bulletins, faith-sharing groups, RCIA:
For professionally published, printable copies of this reflection,
please go to Catholic Digital Resources:
http://catholicdr.com/calendar/January/2ndC.htm - Preview a sample

Next Sunday's Readings:
Isaiah 62:1-5
Ps 96:1-3, 7-10
1 Cor 12:4-11
John 2:1-11
http://www.usccb.org/nab/011710.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_01_17.mp3

The Gospel story next Sunday gives us a good example of how to handle conflicts without sinning.

Mary sees a need and wants Jesus to do something about it. She knows full well that there is nothing he can do except the miraculous. She wants the divine in him to respond to her request, but the human nature of Jesus responds first: He doesn't want to reveal his divinity with this kind of miracle. He's eager to heal souls, not empty wine jars.

"Woman, how does your concern affect me?" he says. "My hour has not yet come." This is like saying, "I respect your request, holy Daughter of Eve, but think about how a miracle in this situation would affect the ministry I'm about to start! People will come to me for party favors and other earthly pleasures, but I want to give them eternal salvation."

We Catholics like to use this scripture as faith-building evidence of the Blessed Mother's ability to help us. We see her in this story as a mother who can get for us whatever we want from Jesus, because she can make him change his mind. Jesus told her no, but the conflict was resolved her way. Mary won, Jesus lost.

Isn't this how we view conflicts? It's not resolved until someone's a winner and someone else is a loser. Therefore, when we make requests of God and he doesn't give us what we want, we feel like we're the loser, so we pray harder, trying to make God become the loser. And when that doesn't work, we ask the Blessed Mother to side with us and influence her Son against his will.

But God wants us to be the winner from the start! He always wants what's best for us. Mary knew this when she told the wine stewards, "Do whatever my Son tells you."

Conflicts are not inherently bad. Conflicts become sacred opportunities for wonderful solutions when we entrust them to God. Mary trusted that Jesus cared about the people at the party. Jesus trusted that the Father cared about both the people and his ministry. It was a win-win situation.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
How do you feel when you lose an argument? How hard do you work at making the other person lose? Will you trust God to take good care of you – even if you feel like a loser?

Questions for Family & Community Faith Sharing:
Describe a conflict (a hypothetical one or a real one from your past or present) and suggest an ideal solution. Is anyone a loser in this scenario? If you were to truly trust God, what might he do to resolve the conflict so that everyone benefits?

STARTING ON MONDAY, if you're a member of the "Emmaus Journey" e-group, share your answers by writing to EmmausJourney@gnm.org
* To join and become a member, go to:
http://gogoodnews.net/GNMcommunities/EmmausJourney/

© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
This work is NOT in Public Domain, and should NOT be copied without permission. For PERMISSION and info on how to copy this reflection, g o to:
http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections/copyrights-DR.htm

Seeking a past reflection?
Click this button to register for the searchable Archive Library of the Good News Reflections. One week access is free as a special gift to subscribers of these emailed reflections.

WAS THIS FORWARDED TO YOU BY A FRIEND?
To sign up for your own subscription, go to:
http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections


Why do I need you as a partner in my daily ministry?
Please help with a donation, including non-financial support. Good News Ministries affects countless lives around the world, including in countries where people have no Catholic Mass and where Christianity is persecuted. continue...
Join the cause on facebook and help spread the message!

Note: Good News Ministries is a non-profit organization that accepts donations as support for its ministries but does not charge for anything. Catholic Digital Resources™ is Terry Modica's publishing house providing professional writing services; the income from this will eventually support the future growth and projects of Good News Ministries. Please spread the word; tell your DRE, RCIA Director, pastor, etc. about what's available for parishes at Catholic Digital Resources™.

______________________________________________________________
This is the "Good News Reflections - American Edition" mailing list.
MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION:
Change your address
Unsubscribe